Fire at NewPro

A fire was extinguished quickly by Smithers firefighters at NewPro late Sunday night.

The fire was called in shortly before midnight. No injuries have been reported.

It took the firefighters less than two hours to get the fire under control. No word yet on what caused the fire, damage, or when employees may be able to return to work.

NewPro re-opened as a particle board manufacturer after delays in getting a provincial permit to restructure as a pellet plant. The Town of Smithers approved the change last year.

The plant suffered an explosion and fire on May 21 of this year. That last fire was in two large cyclone units which is a closed system and is the final stage for the fine particulate to be processed before being pressed into particle board. Heat, load, and fine particulate in a closed system subsequently ignited, causing an explosion between and in the two cyclones.